ChrisCH

Yes, well done for that. Probably a smart move. Now you have ingratiated yourself you might want to have a trip to Dherby at some point. (https://www.dherbeymoto.com/marchand/index.php) We called in on the way down year before last to buy the missus some trials pants (women's sizes seem almost totally absent in the UK). It is a great shop. We stayed overnight in Grenoble (Holiday Inn) and the fireflies were swarming outside the building, the mountains in the background. Quite something. Then drove over the mountains past the ski slopes and some incredible scenery. The walnut orchards are impressive too. Stunningly beautiful part of the world. Incredible range of trials bikes and clothing and spares. Lovely hotel and food and a memorable trip. If only I could persuade them they need an English speaking salesman.....

My guess is when some oldie gets hugely fined for overstay one winter and then complains to the Daily Mail that that is not what they voted for... Glad you have some riding sorted out. As you say there are lots of kind and lovely people there. I cannot honestly recommend coming back here for anything. I consider it to be the biggest mistake I ever made in my life. Also I feel that in the last 5 years or so it has got much worse. All that said I would not have enjoyed the lockdown in Montpellier, at least here we live in the countryside and it was not too bad at all. If I can wangle an Irish passport we will retire to Normandy/Brittany area and buy somewhere with land round it. I will be building a trials course needless to say and hope to find some new friends to play with. I might even buy a 300 Gasser now I know how to tame it.

I wish you every success. If we did not own and run a business here I would have packed up and gone to France just in time to get the permanent residency. We lived in Montpellier for three years and really enjoyed it there. Then my wife's dad was diagnosed with cancer and she wanted to be nearer to him for his last year or so and we returned to the UK. There is a good trials club just outside Montpellier ( https://www.trial-fabregues.com/) once a member you get a key and can ride as much as you like. Prior to the vote no one seemed much to give a monkey's and be bothered by residency status and all that kind of stuff. I fear people have thrown out the baby, the pram and next week's wages with the bathwater.

Montpellier. We have not been able to get there for nearly a year now. Still got the bill for Taxe though. We think that when we go next we will leave the keys with the estate agent - not much point now and particularly as cannot work over there or stay more than 60 days next year.

Doesn't look like I am going to France for xmas then. ?

I am sad enough to look at eBay every day for that elusive project. (And it is a nice distraction from doing any work) This just in at Lee which is not massively too far from you and a bit under budget. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beta-EVO-250cc-Trials-Bike-2017-Model-Clean-Tidy-Good-Value/324333558293

At 5 grand you have enough to buy a decent modern bike. I doubt whatever you choose will disappoint you. More a case of I wish i had tried x, y or z first. A modern 250 is a good choice of bike and the Beta 250 very much so. When I was looking for one for the other half pretty much anything decent had sold before the weekend and the chance to view it - looking at 2 - 2.5 grand at the time and Rev to trade in. If you do feel you want to change bike soon after purchase the 250 will sell quickly and easily. The 300s seem to hang around a bit longer from what I can make out looking at the websites of the dealers and what is on eBay. If you really are not sure I would keep an eye out for a late model 250 Evo. Bikes seem a bit overpriced now after the lockdown (push bike very much so) - I have been watching eBay for a year to see if a cheap project came up and they do not. Even an old heap of junk fetches a good price (who buys this rubbish?) At the higher end of the price range things look a lot better. Non stop in Wales have a factory 250 up at a bit over your budget (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beta-EVO-250-Factory-2020-Trials-Bike-Finance-Part-Exchange-Road-Reg/224191454947) See if you can score a test ride off them - might help you make your mind up.

The problem is the ferry costs. Though I can nearly see it from here FedEx consider the Isle of Wight to be overseas and charge me a tenner extra to deliver there. This is due to ferry costs. (UPS have a ferry contract and are no extra). I am sure Dave will send you anything you want if you pay for it, it will just be the cost issue. It might be cheaper to get someone to fabricate a carrier than try to import one.

The biggest difference I found between the Rev 3 and my missus' Evo is the Evo lifts the front wheel much easier on the clutch and is more controllable for getting over obstacles. She and I originally shared the Rev to learn on and it was not a bad machine, but the Evo is better. It is hard to find a cheap Evo (or a cheap bike at all for that matter). Realistically you need min. two grand IMHO. Prices seem to have gone up a bit this year end after lockdown looking at eBay. My TRS was newer than the wife's Evo (2014 250 2t, £2,300) and more expensive, but I have spent very little on it (rear wheel bearings 20 quid) but the Evo has had a few hundred (not counting the back mudguard which was not the bike's fault..) I read a lot of threads on here and the consensus seemed to be buy as new as you can and as much as you can afford. All I can say is that I agree with that. The TRS spat me off a few times until I got used to the power but I love it now. My wife's Beta is an old nail by comparison. She is happy enough with it but a newer bike will be on next year's list I think.

I agree with @richt the car would have the stress of the bike rack and the trailer. Plus if you are not careful reversing the trailer might damage the bike on the rack. Easier/cheaper to upgrade the trailer. The Insignia is on the limit with the bike and rack (I have Insignia also).

I hope you are correct but the wording (as I understand it) is team sports and we are not a team sport. Nothing on the ACU site this morning and still accepting entries for trials. I guess we will see. (I think we are a very low risk and the current measures are working OK and are sensible so fingers crossed)

Looks like the new rules this morning will put paid to the trials meetings for the foreseeable. Some organisers going to have to refund sharpish.

Ahh. Good old fashioned irrational emotional attachment to an inanimate object. I am sure none of us have that do we? ? I get a (irrational) pleasure from putting new parts onto something, "upgrading" if you like. So the titanium screws make perfect sense to me. (I would probably opt for steel anodised myself but that is just personal preference). If you intend to keep a bike it is not really irrational - it is an investment. My wife might not see it that way, but females have a different perspective on life I think? So mostly I upgrade her bike and we are both happy. edit I should also say that the new sprocket I fitted was a red anodised one to match the bike and was much appreciated as an improvement over the stock silver item - colour is important to lady riders........

Torridge this weekend - https://www.acu.org.uk/events/August-2020/Torridge-DMC-Ltd/Trials/Lower-Wembsworthy-Farm-HartlandBideford-EX39-6EN-ACU59464.aspx Supplemental shows spectators allowed if distancing. Not a million miles from Cornwall.

That looks a lot of work. All I managed during the lockdown was a new chain and sprocket.

I bought a Rev 3 a while back with the idea I might green lane it as well as trials. In all honesty the two are just not good mates. As a cheap trials bike they are OK but for green lanes it really is sub optimal. Mine never got ridden on a road and for that task I still fancy a CRF250. If you really really really want to do both something like a 4ride Montesa is much better (if over budget). But I still think it is a poor halfway house. Beta do/did a tank/seat unit that "converts" the bike to a green lane bike and can be removed to ride trials again if you want. Green lanes are great but you really need a comfortable bike to potter about on and maybe stop for lunch and have a nice day out. Lights and so on are really handy so you can ride a while to a good venue. (Unless you have one on your doorstep). To me the two tasks are different and need different machines.

Yes. Very much the case. We have a pair scoring system so no need for observers. Seems to work very well. Very strict on paper and a bit more "commonsense" in situ. Next ride tonight. Looking forward to it very much. I intend to very much "show willing" whether one thinks it is pointless or not.

LOL. Yes, that is very true. I am beginning to wonder why we worried about all the old people that now are quite keen to push you out the way in the supermarket as they scrabble for the cheap cat food.

Our club is (AFAIK) accepting new members and I don't feel it is any great inconvenience to have to sign up prior to rather than on the day. I am sorry to the OP if the club is not allowing renewal that sounds a bit daft. The supplementary regs for our events are club member and no more than 40mi from the trials ground. Seems to work OK. Also online event entry. Personally I prefer this as I don't ever have any cash to buy anything or pay for anything. If you can't pay by card mostly I don't buy it, whatever it is. Even the sandwich van takes car nowadays. Our event numbers are down as we don't get the 20 or so riders from neighbouring clubs who normally turn up. This makes for a more relaxed meeting and I like it. My missus is very much a fan of it and is enjoying this year's "summer series" much more so than last year. (I'm pleased to say she is riding this year and often just sat it out last year). What this does to the clubs finances I don't know - I do not have that information. Personally I would happily pay a bit extra (like the barbers). Of course this is more difficult to the casual rider who wants to turn up now and then if they feel like it. In that respect it is "discriminatory" if you like that word. I would use inconvenient. But it is not universally a bad thing. Perhaps the answer is to have more events? All for that!

You are both pretty much correct. The nose weight keeps the centre of gravity correct so that the towed equipment runs correctly behind the vehicle. If the nose weight is too little the centre of gravity is too far back and the towed equipment will "snake" (or weave about on the road). Typically you see this with caravans where the ##@# has put all the trinkets and beer supplies in the back of the caravan without thinking. Car transporters are another one as the load is "parked" too far back. You can buy anti-snake couplings (standard on most caravans to allow for the idiots that tow them). These grip the tow ball slightly to reduce the articulation. Modern vehicles attach the tow bar to the chassis in the same place as the rear collision absorber. They are immensely strong and almost certainly capable of handling far more than the design weight of the bar and the car's approved towing spec. Overloading the rack will be very detrimental to the car handling and I guess this is the area where the insurance company and police are going to concentrate if you have a problem. Like most things, you get away with it until there is a problem, then make a fool of yourself telling the copper "I've been doing this for years mate". Trials bikes are a relatively light item and so can just about be carried on a bar mounted rack like a push bike. Adding much other weight might be a problem with a light passenger car but most cars designed for a load will be just fine. A trailer lets you two two bikes and let's be honest who doesn't need at least two? ?

Gums form in petrol due to oxidisation. Newer fuels should be less inclined to do this than the older ones. (My VFR gummed up about 17 years ago IIRC) Petrol should have anti-oxidants added to prevent this happening. I think there are different levels of additives in fuels depending on where you are in the world and whether or not it is "cheap" fuel. Since all fuel is too cheap to even get stressed about in the US it could be anything. Here in the real world fuel is (relativity) expensive so we have discounted fuel at supermarkets. Even with European tax levels petrol is still cheaper than water so it is not a big issue, although the endless complaining suggests it is. For trials bike fuel consumption and cost is unimportant. Using a litre for a meeting is about average. The fuel consumption of my panel van is much more important to drive to the event. Logically - well to me anyway - if fuel was an issue trials would use Aspen or something similar. You can buy it and "race fuel" if you look hard in pretty much all of the UK. Everyone I know buys standard pump fuel. The Beta runs fine on cheap supermarket fuel (97) but I find the TRS runs better on Shell V Power which is a sort of boy-racer petrol at 99 octane and probably one of the most expensive petrols in the UK (at the pump anyway). So I buy the Shell petrol for both bikes (and the lawn mower) a 5L can is about £7 or $9 US. The road bikes run on UL95 from the supermarket. I wonder if a lot of the problems may be due to contamination and not the actual petrol? Lots of opportunities for the supply chain to contaminate fuels, particularly if under very high cost pressures. (A local supermarket here once dispensed petrol from a diesel pump - that cost them a lot of money in claims)

Yes, I had an old VFR750 that gummed up after being stood a bit over 18 months. The fuel becomes a sort of jelly. Horrible. Ride more. Interesting thank you. The advrider thread was as expected with people contradicting one another. My TRS has a keihin as does the wife's Beta and pretty much every bike at our club. Everyone runs E5 because that is what comes out the pump at the filling station. No one I know has any issues at all. I wonder if people are getting problems with bikes that have been stood up for a while? I start the road bikes and the trials bikes every fortnight if they have not been used. The Ducati particularly as the battery is hidden away in the bowels of the bike and a pain if you need to replace it. (Actually the Ducati is just a pain but don't tell her as she loves it more than me) My friend had a TRS One with the Dell'Orto I will ask him at our next trials meeting.

I am curious about this subject and sceptical about a lot of the internet noise. I am sure there are issues with the tanks like the OP which was built in a different era. However it must surely be possible to run modern unleaded fuel in nearly every bike in existence? When you say the gasket swelled up @lineaway which bike is this? Your profile is a 2016 Beta. That bike should run on normal petrol. The carb is designed and specced to run on modern unleaded petrol. If you read the manual for the 2020 Beta RR it specifies normal unleaded petrol. The carb is suited to and set for UL direct from the pump. Italian fuel is ethanol based as is all European fuel. I did some research after the post about aviation petrol. There are several articles where it is strongly recommended not to use this in any other engine as the volatile elements can attack the rubber parts in some (particularly early model) carbs. Also the lead in 100LL can foul up engines that are not low revving. This is the first time I have read anything about volatile compounds attacking "rubber" parts of carbs. Of course these parts are not really "rubber" per se - I guess they mean butyl which is a common O ring material. So now I am even more confused and curious. Lineaway can you please give us more data on the gasket? I wonder if changing these carburettor components will "cure" the ethanol issue? (Assuming there is one). As an update I found this - https://www.efunda.com/designstandards/oring/oring_chemical.cfm?SM=none&SC=Ethanol This suggests that ethanol is not a problem for the common O ring materials like butyl and also natural rubber.

I have researched a lot about this to see how it affects the Ducati. Much of what is out there seems to contradict other articles and opinions. I have also read about liners failing as @totty79 has posted. I must admit I have not taken much interest in the vulnerability of old components as our Ducati is a 2012 model. But you guys have got me googling again. I wonder if anyone has any experience with the additives? These are supposed to overcome the issues with ethanol and old pre-ethanol components such as O rings. I don't know how they affect the water absorption which is the source of any corrosion. (E60 seems to come out worse, but going from E5 to E10 doesn't seem to make much odds) Anyway there are things out there which either work or are just to take your hard-earned. Wonder if anyone has a view? https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/frost-ethomix-fuel-additive-fstz555/

I think there is a liquid you can tip into tanks to line them? (yes - https://www.rust.co.uk/product/slosh-petrol-tank-sealer-7) I have read about this for fibreglass tanks. My neighbour bought something similar to cure a leak on an old Yam 900. However he is a bit ham fisted and managed to block up the carbs but not cure the leak ? Might be worth investigation? Do please have a google round first though as I have no other experience of this type of product.